Front wheels vibrate at 55-75 mph

[midtown]

I'm looking for some help to fix this problem.
My 99 Tahoe has a bad frontend shake between the speeds of 55-75 mph.
This shake seems like an out of balance tire. I have had the tires balanced twice and it's still there. I have changed wheels and tires and it's still there.
I have checked all or the tie rod ends and ball joints and everything is in good shape. I have replaced the u-joints,shocks and added a steering stabilizer and it's still there.
I can put the cruise control on and the shake comes and goes about every 1/4 mile. While shaking, the steering wheel is impossible to hold still.

I know mine can't be the only one with this problem.
Any help would be great, Midtown

 

[metro273]

Check your tires. You probably have a separated belt somewhere.

 

[midtown]

Hi,
I have rotated tires and also tried another set and the problem continues.
Midtown

 

[Slammed]

also check the wheel bearings and the rotors and make sure a professional checks the ball joints

 

[tofargone]

Are you sure its in the front end or tires. Mine did this under load and it was in the motor. Changed a lot of the ignition parts and the problem has been gone for a while. Do you throw any codes?

 

[riverst]

Sound like the wheels bearings. Raise your Truck and see if you can move the tire back and forth. If so then its your bearings. I had the same symtoms on my Explorer.

 

[qlc1964]

ARE these factory wheels or custom wheels? i have custom wheels on mine and i
have vibration . i thought it was my driver side lower ball joint after changing it

it's still there. i put my factory wheels & Tires back on it rides smooth.

so my custom wheels are the problem

 

[midtown]

tofargone, The engine runs smooth with no codes. It pulls a car trailer with plenty of power and the vibration is still there pulling or not.

Slammed, I have checked the rotors and they are ok..I will have to look at the wheel bearings to see if they are worn. I do kow that the replacement hub assembly is just around $150-$200 per side.

qlc1964, The Tahoe does have the factory wheels.

Thanks for these ideas...I hope we can narrow this down, Midtown

 

[bowhunter22]

Just to throw an idea out there. Take a look at your front axles, especially the boots around the CV's. If they are torn stuff can get in there and destroy them fast. If the joint starts to get a sticky spot it will shake the steering wheel.

 

[tofargone]

Does the shaking go away if you take your foot off the gas? Also is your steering loose or tight?

 

[midtown]

bowhunter22, axles and boots look good with no boot tares.
tofargone, the shaking continues on and off the gas and the steering is tight.
I have even put it in neutral while going down the road and it's still there.
I have found the hub assemblies on eBay for $198 a pair. I think I am going to buy them and give it a shot. My Tahoe has 110,000 and it's not going to hurt replacing them even if it does'nt correct the problem.
My price through NAPA is $186 each for the US made hubs and the overseas made hubs are $156 each. I'm sure the eBay items are made overseas but I'm lucky if I drive the Tahoe 5000 mile a year so the cost savings should be ok. If this was an every day driver I would buy the US made parts.
Midtown

 

[midtown]

Does anyone know if I will need a hub puller to remove the old hubs or will they spline off with ease? Thanks, Midtown

 

[mygreen98]

no hub puller necessary, 3 bolts and it comes off, most new ones come with new abs sensors, i did mine recently, very easy swap. did u say u checked all ujoints, front and rear? if not do so.

 

[stkr]

What make of tires are you running? I have had 3 sets of BFG's with the same problem. This has occured on Tahoe and GMC 2500. Tire store manager says it is the tires.

 

[mygreen98]

when you checked the ujoints, did you remove each cup and inspect for rust/ and check the needle bearings in each? also did you grease the front spline section on the rear driveshaft.? they get dry, and since the are slip yoke style, they need to slide back and forth with ease.

 

[midtown]

stkr, The first set of tires were Goodyear and I now has Winston tires.
I did do it with both sets. It would be nice to find someone that does'nt have this problem for a quick swap.



mygreen98, I have replaced the rear joints and checked the front ones. I have not went as far as removing the caps to check the needle bearings.
You are right about rust...My rear joints were rusty so maybe I will go ahead and replace the front ones as well. While under the truck I will also grease the slip yoke area.
Thanks for the tips , Midtown

 

[mygreen98]

definitely check the front shaft ujoints. even if the truck is in 2wd, the front shaft still turns. this being said, a bad joint will cause the truck to vibrate. good luck, post your findings.

 

[midtown]

Just a quick update.
I installed the new hubs today(easy install)and the vibration continues.
It seems like it's a little less but the funny thing is when I installed a steering stabilizer shock it calmed it down for a while and it came back to it's normal vibration. Same situation both times I had the tires balanced.
Next step is to install the front u-joints in the drive shaft. I'll update afterwards. Midtown

 

[mygreen98]

im dealing with some vibration myself, have a bad bearing in transfer case. will post any finding after i change bearing. check those front ujoints. good luck.

 

[midtown]

A quick update...
I installed a new set of front u-joints and down the road I went.
Everything seemed to be doing really good at all speeds (55-75 mph)
I crossed an overpass ,at 65 mph, that had a slight bump and this was enough to start the front vibration again. It is not as bad a before but it is still there.
It is a lot more tolerable then before.
I will be trying another set of wheels and tires from a friends truck that is very smooth.
The wheels are the only thing that has not been changed, but they have been rotated.
I will update again later. MIDTOWN